1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical and communication controls systems generally and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to novel hardware that may be employed with integrated electrical and communication devices that may be found in a home or commercial building.
2. Background Art
Improvements in designs and manufacturing processes for electrical appliances have resulted in most homes and commercial buildings having a wide variety of electrical appliances to perform a multitude of tasks, from cooking foods to controlling heating and air conditioning equipment. Many of these tasks are time-related. For example, it is desirable that food be prepared in time for a meal and that heating equipment be activated at certain times of the year. In each case, it may be desirable that the cooking or heating equipment be activated when no one is present in the home or building. It is also desirable to be able to activate, for example, lighting, heating, or cooking equipment from a remote location within the home or building. Some systems are available for providing such remote control, usually involving dedicated wiring or radio frequency control.
Additional wired systems in homes and commercial buildings are dedicated to telephones, the numbers of which have multiplied greatly, due, at least in part, to the deregulation of the telephone industry which has led to low cost telephones and user or contractor installed telephone wiring. Other uses requiring wiring in homes and commercial buildings are cable television and data services (CATV/DATA) and local computer networks.
Recently, there have been a great deal of discussion and proposals for developing "smart buildings" in which the whole of the electrical and communication system is integrated into a single control system. Heretofore, however, there has not been developed an integrated hardware system to facilitate the installation and use of such a control system.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide hardware for an integrated electrical/communication system to facilitate the installation and use thereof.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such hardware that is economical to manufacture.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide such hardware that is easily installed and used.
It is another object of the invention to provide such hardware that is safe and affords a neat installation.
Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.